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Governors

 

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There are 14 governors on the school’s governing body.

They include representatives of the main political parties nominated by Camden Council, school staff, parent and co-opted representatives. We aim for a balance of deaf and hearing governors.

The governors ensure the school is well run and provides children with the best possible education. parent governors are elected by the parents. They make sure that our parents’ views are valued and represented at an official level.

Our governors have secured excellent resources and facilities for Frank Barnes and ensured the school remains at the cutting edge of Deaf education in England and internationally. In support of this, we are delighted that the London Borough of Camden has guaranteed funding for a ten year strategy for deaf children.

We hope this website gives you a taste of our learning community, what we do and why we do it. However, to fully appreciate what we can offer your child, please come and visit us.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor, please register your interest via email.

For the register of members’ and governors’ interests please click here.

If you would like to contact the school governing body you can write for the attention of Joanna Wootten, Chair of Governors, email c/o the Frank Barnes School Office – admin@fbarnes.camden.sch.uk

Terms of Reference

Terms of Office

Current governors

Governor Governor Role Appointed by... Committee Terms of Office
Joanna Wootten Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body

Chair of Governors /

Business Committee

29th Nov 2023 to 28 Nov 2027
Dr Robert Adam Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body Vice Chair 22 Oct 2024 to 21 October 2028
Dani Sive Headteacher Governor Full Governing  Body Business & Curriculum Committee Ex-Officio Governor
Katie Lam Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body

Business Committee Chair

22 Oct 2024 to 21 Oct 2028
Michael Kettiros Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body Business Committee 05 Mar 2019 to 08 Jul 2027
Sannah Gulamani Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body Business Committee 16 Oct 2024 to 15 Oct 2028
Simon Pearson  Local Authority Governor Full Governing  Body Health & Safety Committee 01 Oct 2021 to 30 Sep 2025
Dr Manjula Patrick Co-opted Governor Full Governing Body Curriculum Committee Chair 29 Nov 2023 to 28 Nov 2027
Agustin Molina Parent Governor Full Governing Body Curriculum Committee 23 Mar 2022 to 22 Mar 2026
James Barratt Associate Member Full Governing Body Business Committee 16 Oct 2024 to 15 Oct 2028
Shikha Sharma Parent Governor Parent Body   19 Oct 2022 to 18th Nov 2026
Emily Crowe Staff Governor School Staff Curriculum Committee 11th Oct 2023 to 10 Oct 2027
Joe Collenette Parent Governor Parent body Business Committee 11th Oct 2023 to 10 Oct 2027 
Akaine Mitchell Parent Governor Parent body Curriculum Committee 3rd July 2024 to 2nd July 2028

Sandra David

Associate Governor Full Governing Body Curriuculum Committee 4th December 2024 to 3rd December 2028

Former Governors

Mahbub Ahmed Parent Governor Parent Body Curriculum Committee 28 Nov 2017 to 27 Nov 2021
Nicola Bayley Parent Governor Parent Body Child Protection and Safeguarding  1 Nov 2014 to 06 Jul 2022
Michele Gordon Staff Governor School Staff Business Committee 10 Oct 2018 to 09 Oct 2022
Sherin Elie Parent Governor Parent  Body Curriculum Committee 05 Dec 2018 to 04 Dec 2022
Sharon Serra Parent Governor Parent Body Curriculum Committee 17 Mar 2021 to 11 May 2022
AJ Miller Staff Governor School Staff Curriculum Committee 30 Nov 2022 to 05 July 2023
Martin Glover Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body Vice Chair/ Curriculum Committee 08 Nov 2015 to 29 Nov 2023
Dr Adam Stone Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body Curriculum Committee Chair 06 Mar 2019 to 29 Nov 2023
Alan Murray MBE Co-opted Governor Full Governing  Body Equalities 01 Sept 2006 to 29 Nov 2023
Governor Profiles

Joanna Wootten, Independent Advisor
Joanna is the Chair of Governors at Frank Barnes School. She has been advising private and public sector organisations around disability, age and inclusion for over 10 years.  She originally trained as a solicitor before joining the not-for-profit sector where she held senior roles, including being Deputy Chief Executive of SignHealth.  She is currently Chair of TfL's Independent Disability Advisory Group, a member of Pay.UK's End User Advisory Panel and an ambassador for the Business Disability Forum.  She was born Deaf.


 

Dr Robert Adam
I am vice-Chair of Governors at Frank Barnes School and have been a Governor at the school since 2006.  I am Assistant Professor in Languages and Intercultural Communication at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and my research interests are in sign language, interpreting, translation, minority languages and multilingualism.  I studied my PhD at UCL focussing on minority language contact between two sign languages. Previously I was Director, Continuing Professional Development/Teaching Fellow at the UCL Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre and I am now also Visiting Professor at the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin and Honorary Lecturer at the UCL Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre.  
My other volunteer work is as coordinator of the World Federation of the Deaf Sign Language and Deaf Studies expert group, as well as Chairperson of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters (UK) Deaf Interpreter Network. I also work as a sign language interpreter and translator.  In my spare time I enjoy baking and hill walking locally around Scotland.  I am from Melbourne, Australia and my parents and sister and an aunt are all deaf.

 

Dani SiveDani Sive
I was born and bred in South Africa and moved to London following my studies and qualification as a primary school teacher in 1999 from the University of Cape Town.  I started working at Frank Barnes School in 2000 as a supply teacher, and worked my way up from a being class teacher, Team Leader, Assistant Headteacher, and finally Headteacher since September 2016.
I am proud to be leading such a dynamic and outstanding school where our pupils are growing up with a positive Deaf identity, accessing the curriculum in BSL and developing academically and socially as bilingual learners.  I am also proud to be a positive deaf role model for the pupils, staff and the Deaf community, and have a strong vision for Deaf education.  I believe that all deaf children have a right to a high quality bilingual education in BSL and English, with so many Deaf role models in the staff.  I am very fortunate to have the support from and collaboration from a dedicated and diverse group of Governors to drive school improvement and achieve high standards.
 

Katie Lam
Katie Lam has been a Governor of Frank Barnes since 2016, and Chair of the Business Committee since 2019. When she is not supporting Frank Barnes, Katie has recently been working in government as a Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, and most recently as No10 Deputy Chief of Staff. 
Katie is also an award-winning lyricist and scriptwriter, with musicals performed at venues including the London Coliseum, Cadogan Hall, and the ocean liner Queen Mary 2.  Katie is a trustee of two creative charities - theatre charity Antic Face, and the Ivors Academy Trust, the songwriters' and composers' charity.  Katie is based in London.

 

Simon Pearson
I’m a retired Chartered Quantity Surveyor, and since 2018 I’m a Camden Councillor for Swiss Cottage ward (where Frank Barnes used to be!).  I’m the Council Champion for Learning Disabled and for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.  
I became the Local Authority nominated Governor in 2017, as it seemed an exciting and different challenge. I’m on the Health and Safety sub-committee.  I’m a carer, and I walk and cycle everywhere, and I’m passionate about a green new deal.

 

Michael Kettiros
I have been a Co-opted School Governor at Frank Barnes since 2019 sitting on the Business Committee as well as being involved in General committee endeavours. This is my first role as a Governor, and I am thoroughly enjoying it! Frank Barnes is a school that I grew up next door to as a child, so I feel as though I have come full circle! I have a degree in Accounting and Finance from Durham University then qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) whilst at KPMG. This experience and skill set has allowed me to try and add value to the finance function of the Board of Governors, ensuring the monetary health of the school carries on for years to come.
My governor role has been a very rewarding experience thus far being involved with Frank Barnes and understanding first-hand the dedication that is put in by the school staff to ensure a fantastic and safe learning environment is forthcoming. This is a role I hope to continue for a long time!

 

Dr Manjula Patrick 
I have two ‘hats’ at UCL (University College London); Disability Equity Lead in the Faculty of Brain Sciences and, Centre Manager of the Deafness, Cognition, and Language (DCAL) Research Centre with responsibility for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). I have a PhD in Biotechnology (quite a shift from my current roles!) and am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I have won awards for Public Engagement, Equality, Diversity and Fairness, and Innovation and Enterprise.
I am committed to social justice and inclusion, particularly in relation to access, and representation at all levels of higher education. My personal experience of intersectional identities gives me insights to multi-layered barriers, beyond the effects of a unitary protected characteristic. Despite the complexity it brings to addressing equality, I feel intersectionality is central to meaningful interventions.
In my spare time, I run, cook, knit, crochet, paint and am a very keen gardener... and keep rescue hens!

 

Agustin Molina

I am from Ecuador and have been living in the UK since 2003. 

Over the years my interests have changed from photography, visiting museums and travelling to now dedicating time to gardening.  I am blessed to have a garden in London where I can bring up my children and grow fruit and vegetables. 

 I joined the Frank Barnes School Governing Body as a Parent Governor, because I am interested in getting more involved and supporting the education of my son and all pupils at Frank Barnes School.  I look forward to contributing as a Governor to the formative years of all pupils  and helping make the school’s goals achievable.